: Re: Character motivations facing death? Would it be boring/unrealistic/silly/cliché if most characters only had this main motivation for most of a story: saving humanity/their country/their familly/themselves.

@Jamie945

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At first I would say: You focus too much on your "almighty" knowledge.

Why should the people in your story believe, that the end is unavoidable? It is a matter of fact and part of the humanity, that Humans tend to have hope until everything is over. You have that on the streets everyday.

Some people ravage the streets, some commit suicide, some stick to their families ... and some refuse to give up hope. That is the same as with "Pandora's Box" in the greek mythology. Hope is a bittersweet feeling, that can be a cure and a curse at the same time.

Every person has a personal motivation and that is part of you as the author to describe. "Saving the humanity" is just a basic part of the "Hope" and reason for fighting. But why are your people doing this, instead of ravaging, raping, staying with the family, pray to god, etc. That is what drives to character and makes people to identify with the characters.

Character differences are not out of the way, just because a situation changes. In fact: Some of the differences can increase in such situations.

You see: There is a pretty wide area of emotions, character depths and conflicts that can arise around your characters anytime.

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